A review of the Federal Aviation Administration Air Traffic Control (ATC) transcripts revealed that the airplane departed RHV about 1722 as a flight of two with the Cessna. At 1725 a discussion transpired between an air traffic controller and the pilot of the Cessna about the transponder problems he was experiencing. They decided that the accident airplane would use a discrete squawk. The airplane continued west over the Norman Y Mineta San Jose International Airport, San Jose, California and were advised to maintain a heading of 270° and an altitude at or below 2,500 ft mean sea level (msl). At 1742, the Cessna pilot advised the controller that they were planning to descend below 1,000 ft msl and may lose radio contact, to which he replied that radar services were terminated and instructed the pilot to squawk VFR.

The accident pilot stated that he was making a descending left turn when at about 3,000 ft msl, the engine became quieter and stopped producing power. The JPI Engine Monitor Display 700 indicated the exhaust gas temperatures (EGTs) were declining to 0° and the fuel flow was 0 gph. He switched the boost pump to “LO” for several seconds and then “HI” and then switched it back off. He manipulated the throttle, propeller, and mixture controls full forward and about 500 ft agl, he positioned the fuel selector from the left to the right tank. The engine revved up momentarily and quit again. He stated that the propeller was windmilling and the engine was not producing power, which he described as the momentum of the turning propeller was causing the engine cylinders to keep moving, but not producing power. He stated there were no unusual vibrations, sounds, or odors.

The pilot further stated that he communicated with the pilot of the Cessna about the engine failure and he opted to ditch with the landing gear and flaps in the retracted position. He configured the airplane into a level attitude at about 10 ft above the water surface and waited for it to settle into the water. Immediately after impact, he and the passenger egressed the airplane with several items they wanted to salvage from the cockpit and stood on the wing until the airplane sank (an estimated 40 to 50 seconds).

Just prior to the engine anomaly, the passenger took two cell phone videos, both of which were posted to the social media platform Instagram. The last video was started at 1735:26 (at a location 3 nm north of the accident site) and captured 16 seconds showing the pilot making the left turn just prior to the engine losing power (reference picture 01).